Ahead of France's World Cup opener against Hondurasin Porto Alegre on Sunday, the centre forward lamentsthe loss of the Ballon d'Or nominee from DidierDeschamps's squadFrance striker Karim Benzema has lamented the timing of aninjury that will keep Franck Ribery from playing at the WorldCup.Although the Bayern Munich winger was initially named inDidier Deschamps's 23-man squad to travel to Brazil, he hadto withdraw because of ongoing back trouble.Benzema admits the absence of their star player hasaffected Les Bleus heading into the tournament but saysthat they can compensate for the loss."It's unfortunate for both Franck and us," the Real Madridforward told the Times of India. "He was so keen to play theWorld Cup but he picked up this injury at a horrible time. Whena player of his calibre is not available, you are bound to feelit."Injuries are part and parcel of a professional footballer'slife. It was most unfortunate, especially since it involved oneof our best players, but we are preparing ourselves in thebest possible manner and we all know Franck will be with us,supporting all of us, during the tournament."France have been handed a draw perceived to be kind,though Benzema is certainly not treating their opponents aspushovers.He noted: "I am aware of the surprises involved in a WorldCup."Our coach, the former captain of the World Cup-winning1998 team, Didier Deschamps, has clearly defined what ourroles should be during the first round and the targets we arelooking to achieve at the World Cup. We need to qualify fromthe group first and for that we need to play three very,very good games."There are no easy games in a World Cup."